ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Commerce & Industry
India’s Organic food products exports rise by more than 50 per cent in 2020-21 despite COVID-19 challenges
India’s export of Organic food products rose by 51% in terms of value , to USD 1040 million  during financial year 2020-21 compared to the previous fiscal .
In terms of quantity, the exports of organic food products grew by 39% to 888,179 metric tonne  during FY 2020-21 compared to 638,998 MT shipped in 2019-20. The growth in organic products has been achieved despite logistical and operational challenges posed by the COVID19 pandemic.
Oil cake meal has been a major commodity of the organic product exports from the country followed by oil seeds, fruit pulps and purees, cereals & millets, spices & condiments, tea, medicinal plant products, dry fruits, sugar, pulses, coffee, essential Oil etc.
India’s organic products have been exported to 58 countries including USA, European Union, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, Switzerland, Israel, South Korea .
Dr M Angamuthu, Chairman, APEDA, stated that Indian organic products, nutraceuticals and health food are gaining more demand in overseas market.
Organic products are currently exported from India only if they are produced, processed, packed and labelled as per the requirements of the National Programme for Organic Production . The NPOP has been implemented by APEDA since its inception in 2001 as notified under the Foreign Trade  Act, 1992.
The NPOP certification has been recognised by the European Union and Switzerland which enables India to export unprocessed plant products to these countries without the requirement of additional certification. The equivalency with EU also facilitates export of Indian organic products to the United Kingdom even in the post Brexit phase.
In order to facilitate the trade between major importing countries, negotiations are underway with Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Australia, UAE, New Zealand for achieving Mutual Recognition Agreements for exports of Organic products from India.
NPOP has also been recognized by the Food Safety Standard Authority of India  for trade of organic products in the domestic market. Organic products covered under the bilateral agreement with NPOP need not to be recertified for import in India.
Prime Minister's Office
PM to visit Kanpur on 28 December and inaugurate Kanpur Metro Rail Project
Project reflects PM’s focus to boost urban mobility
PM to be the Chief Guest at IIT Kanpur Convocation Ceremony and launch blockchain-based digital degrees
Students to be issued digital degrees through an in-house blockchain-driven technology developed at the Institute
PM to also inaugurate Bina-Panki Multiproduct Pipeline Project
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will visit Kanpur on 28 December 2021 and inaugurate the completed section of Kanpur Metro Rail Project at around 1:30 PM. During the programme, the Prime Minister will also inaugurate the Bina-Panki Multiproduct Pipeline Project. Prior to this, Prime Minister will attend the 54th Convocation Ceremony of IIT Kanpur at around 11 AM.
Improving urban mobility has been one of the key focus areas of the Prime Minister. The inauguration of the completed section of the Kanpur Metro Rail Project is yet another step in this direction. This completed 9 Km long section is from IIT Kanpur to Moti Jheel. Prime Minister will inspect the Kanpur Metro Rail Project and undertake a metro ride from IIT metro station to Geeta Nagar. The entire length of the Metro Rail Project in Kanpur is 32 Km, and is being built at a cost of over Rs 11,000 crore.
Prime Minister will inaugurate the Bina-Panki Multiproduct Pipeline Project. The 356 Km long project has a capacity of around 3.45 million metric tonne per annum. Extending from Bina refinery in Madhya Pradesh to Panki in Kanpur, the project has been built at a cost of over Rs 1500 crore. It will help the region access petroleum products from the Bina refinery.
Prime Minister will be the Chief Guest of the 54th Convocation of IIT Kanpur. During the convocation, all the students will be issued digital degrees through an in-house blockchain-driven technology developed at the Institute under the National Blockchain Project. Prime Minister will launch the blockchain based digital degrees. These digital degrees can be verified globally and are unforgeable.
Ministry of Power
Union Minister for Power, New & Renewable Energy inaugurates CSR initiatives of NTPC Eastern Region Projects
Union Minister for Power, New & Renewable Energy Shri R.K Singh visited Nabinagar Power Generating Company Ltd  premises, a wholly owned subsidiary of NTPC on 19th & 20th August 2021.
During the visit, Shri Singh dedicated various CSR works carried out by NTPC & NPGC to the tune of 11.32 Crores including the inauguration of PHC at Meh – Aurangabad and distribution of disability aid items in association with ALIMCO at Barh. He flagged off Dedicated Medical Van for Cancer Detection Camp to be organized in four districts of Bihar and distribution of aids & appliances to the differently abled residing in the vicinity of NTPC Barh via online/offline mode in a function.
During the program, he unveiled the two compendiums on CSR compiled by NPGC and BRBCL Projects. Shri Praveen Saxena, RED ER-1 briefed Hon’ble MOP about the CSR initiatives and other projects undertaken by these projects. Hon’ble Minster, Shri Singh also lauded the commendable efforts put forth by team NTPC/NPGC. Later in the program, he chaired a Review Meeting in the presence of RED, Distt Magistrate and SP Aurangabad and CEOs of NPGC & BRBCL on progress and pending critical issues of NPGC & BRBCL. He instructed the District administration to resolve the issues in a time bound manner so as to serve the communities in the most efficient way possible.
Office of Principal Scientific Advisor to GoI
COVID-19 Projects Facilitated by Office of Principal Scientific Adviser: Extension of Hospitals
As COVID-19 cases surged in different parts of the country, infrastructure in hospitals was under immense pressure.Innovative modular hospitals came as a huge relief amidst this.Modular hospitals are an extension of hospital infrastructure and can be built adjacent to an existing hospital building.Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser, Government of India invited private sector companies, donor organizations, and individuals to support various projects of national importance. Project Extension Hospitals is one such initiative.TheO/o PSA identified requirements of close to 50 hospitals in states where the highest number of COVID-19 cases were reported.
Modulus Housing, a start-up incubated at Indian Institute of Technology, Madras  developed the MediCAB hospitals.This enables building a 100-bedded extension facility in 3-weeks’ time. MediCAB hospitals are designed with a dedicated zone of Intensive Care Units  that can accommodate various life-support equipment and medical devices. These negative pressure portable hospitals have durability of around 25 years, and they can also be shifted in the future for any disaster response in less than a week. These rapidly deployable hospitals will plug a major health infrastructure gap in India’s fight against COVID-19, especially in rural areas and smaller towns. The O/o PSA has been actively working towards securing CSR support to implement these projects in different areas across the nation.
Modulus Housing has started deployingMediCAB extension hospitals with the help of the American Indian Foundation . Mastercard, Texas Instruments, Zscaler, PNB Housing, Goldman Sachs, Lenovo, and NASSCOM Foundation have also extended CSR support. The first batch of 100 bedded hospitals is being commissioned at Bilaspur ; Amravati, Pune, and Jalna ; Mohali , and a 20-bed hospital at Raipur . Bengaluru  will have one each of 20-, 50-, and 100-beds in the first phase.
The Office of PSA has also collaborated with Tata Projects Ltd to deploy modular hospitals at multiple sites in Punjab and Chhattisgarh. They have initiated work on 48 bedded modular hospitals in Gurdaspur and Faridkot . Expansion of ICU at multiple hospitals in Chhattisgarh including Raipur, Jashpur, Bemetara, Kanker, and Gaurella are also underway.
For queries about this project write to industry-engagement[at]psa[dot]gov[dot]in
Visit the page for more details on various COVID-19 projects: https://www.psa.gov.in/innovation-science-bharat
Ministry of Textiles
Textiles Ministry Sets up Emergency Control Room to Monitor Production and Supply of Medical Textiles
The Ministry of Textiles has set up an Emergency Control Room to monitor production and supply of medical textiles  which are required in connection with Covid-19.
Emergency control office will work under the supervision of Shri. P K Kataria, Special Secretary . Following officers of the Textiles Ministry are part of the control room:
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Designation
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Mobile No.
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1
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NiharRanjan Dash
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Joint Secretary
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9910911396
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2
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H K Nanda
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Director
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9437567873
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3
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Balram Kumar
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Director
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9458911913
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4
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Pankaj Kumar Singh
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Dy. Secretary
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9555758381
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5
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Padmapani Bora
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Dy. Secretary
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9871070834
Following field level officers have also been appointed to take stock of the situation from ground level:
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Name
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Designation
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Mobile No.
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1
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MolayChandanChakravarthy
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Textile Commissioner, Mumbai
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8910267467
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2
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RanjitRanjanOkhandiar
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Member Secretary,
Central Silk Board, Bangalore
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7987331656
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3
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Ajit B Chavan
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Secretary, Textile Committee, Mumbai
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9958457403
Anyone having any problem relating to supply of medical textiles  may contact these officers.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
Update on COVID-19 Vaccine Availability in States/UTs
More than 195.72 Crore vaccine doses provided to States/UTs
More than 7.08 Crore balance and unutilized vaccine doses still available with States/UTs
The Union Government is committed to accelerating the pace and expanding the scope of COVID-19 vaccination throughout the country. The nationwide COVID 19 vaccination started on 16th January 2021. The new phase of universalization of COVID-19 vaccination commenced from 21st June 2021. The vaccination drive has been ramped up through availability of more vaccines, advance visibility of vaccine availability to States and UTs for enabling better planning by them, and streamlining the vaccine supply chain.
As part of the nationwide vaccination drive, Government of India has been supporting the States and UTs by providing them COVID Vaccines free of cost. In the new phase of the universalization of the COVID19 vaccination drive, the Union Government will procure and supply  75% of the vaccines being produced by the vaccine manufacturers in the country to States and UTs.
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VACCINE DOSES
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SUPPLIED
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1,95,72,02,325
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BALANCE AVAILABLE
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7,08,19,940
More than 195.72 crore  vaccine doses have been provided to States/UTs so far through Govt. of India  and through direct state procurement category.
More than 7.08 Cr  balance and unutilized COVID Vaccine doses are still available with the States/UTs to be administered.
Election Commission
ECI appoints Sh Vivek Dube as Special Observer for Sikkim Bye-Elections
Election Commission of India has appointed Sh Vivek Dube  as Special Observer for the ensuing Bye Elections to the State Legislative Assemblies of Sikkim 2019 in general and specifically for 10 Poklok -Kamrang Assembly Constituency in Sikkim. Sh Dube has been deputed to specifically report to ECI about Law and Order situation and oversee the deployment and other security related issues there. The Commission has taken the decision in view of inputs and complaints received.
It may be recalled that Sh Dube was also deputed earlier as Special Observer to State of West Bengal during the Lok Sabha General Elections in April 2019.
Ministry of Home Affairs
The Union Home Minister, Shri Amit Shah condoled the passing away of the Administrator of Lakshadweep, Shri Dineshwar Sharma
Shri Amit Shah says, he served the nation with utmost devotion as a dedicated officer of the Indian Police Service
The Union Home Minister, Shri Amit Shah condoled the passing away today of the Administrator of Lakshadweep, Shri Dineshwar Sharma. In a tweet Shri Amit Shah said, “Deeply anguished to learn about the passing away of Administrator of Lakshadweep Shri Dineshwar Sharma ji. He served the nation with utmost devotion as a dedicated officer of the Indian Police Service. My heartfelt condolences to his family in this hour of grief. Om Shanti.”
Ministry of Agriculture &
Farmers Welfare
Overcoming lockdown restrictions, sowing of Summer Crops continues uninterrupted
Sown area of summer crops rises significantly, pushed up by rice cultivation
Sowing of the Summer Crops has progressed satisfactorily despite the difficulties experienced due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and the 21-day lockdown effective since 24th March midnight to fight the COVID-19 disease. Statistics compiled by the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare as on 10th April, 2020 reveal that the total area under the Summer Crops  cultivation has jumped significantly, registering 11.64 lakh hectare increase over last year, overcoming the restrictions and social distancing norms witnessed since last month, particularly after the lockdown w.e.f. 25th March, 2020. As against a total cultivated area of 37.12 lakh ha in the year 2018-19, the summer crops have been sown in an area of 48.76 lakh ha this year, 2019-20. The normal area of corresponding week in the last year was 41.81 lakh ha as on 10th April.
Among the Summer Crops, the main driver of this growth in cultivable area is Rice, clocking a robust 8.77 lakh ha increase in Sown area. All other crops have registered increase in Sown area below 1 lakh ha, barring Ragi coarse cereal which has registered a marginal decline of 0.06 lakh ha over the last year. About 32.58 lakh ha area coverage under Summer Rice has been reported compared to 23.81 lakh ha during the corresponding period of last year. The area has been reported mainly from the States of West Bengal , Telangana , Odisha , Assam , Karnataka , Chhattisgarh , Tamil Nadu , Bihar , Maharashtra , Madhya Pradesh , Gujarat  and Kerala .
As regards Pulses, about 3.97 lakh ha area coverage has been reported compared to 3.01 lakh ha
during the corresponding period of last year. The area has been reported mainly from the States of Tamil Nadu , Uttar Pradesh , West Bengal , Gujarat , Chhattisgarh , Bihar , Karnataka , Punjab , Maharashtra , Madhya Pradesh , Jharkhand , Telangana  and Uttarakhand .
Among Coarse cereals, about 5.54 lakh ha area coverage has been reported compared to 4.33 lakh ha during the corresponding period of last year. The area has been reported mainly from the States of Gujarat , West Bengal , Maharashtra , Bihar , Karnataka , Chhattisgarh , Tamil Nadu , Madhya Pradesh  and Jharkhand .
While among Oilseeds, about 6.66 lakh ha Sown area has been reported compared to 5.97 lakh ha during the corresponding period of last year. The area has been reported mainly from the States of West Bengal , Karnataka , Gujarat , Odisha , Maharashtra , Tamil Nadu , Andhra Pradesh , Uttar Pradesh , Telangana , Chhattisgarh , Haryana , Punjab , Bihar  and Madhya Pradesh .
Click here for Table on the ‘Progress of area coverage under Summer crops’
Prime Minister's Office
PM to interact with and address the contingent of Indian athletes who participated in the Asian Games 2022 on 10th October
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will interact with and address the contingent of Indian athletes who participated in the Asian Games 2022 at around 4:30 PM on 10th October, 2023 at Major Dhyan Chand Stadium, New Delhi.
The programme is an endeavour by the Prime Minister to congratulate the athletes for their outstanding achievement at the Asian Games 2022 and to motivate them for future competitions. India won a total of 107 medals, including 28 gold medals in Asian Games 2022. This is India's best performance in the Asian Games in terms of total number of medals won.
The program will be attended by the athletes of the Indian contingent for the Asian Games, their coaches, officials from the Indian Olympic Association, representatives of National Sports Federations, along with officials from the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports.
Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers
5322 Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana Kendras functional in the country: Shri D.V. Sadananda Gowda
Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers, Shri D.V. Sadananda Gowda, while giving a written reply to a question on Janaushadhi Kendrasin Rajya Sabha today, stated thatas on 10.06.2019, 5322 Kendras are functional under ‘Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana’ . Out of these, 144 PMBJP kendras are run by persons belonging to SC/ST community.
The Minister further stated that 39 PMBJP kendras have been opened in North-East and Naxal-affected areas in financial year 2018-19.
In a written reply to another question on PMBJP scheme, in Rajya Sabha today, Shri Gowda stated that the Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India  has entered into contract with154 WHO-GMP certified pharmaceutical manufacturing companies for procuring quality generic medicines and other surgical & consumables to be sold under Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana .
Ministry of Home Affairs
Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh chairs a review meeting on recruitment, promotion and vacancy position in CAPFs & Delhi Police
The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh chaired a review meeting with the Director General of Central Armed Police Forces  and Commissioner of Delhi Police today at North Block, New Delhi. The Minister of State for Home Affairs Shri Hansraj Gangaram Ahir and Union Home Secretary were also present in the meeting.
During the meeting, the vacancy position, various issues related to direct recruitment and promotion to different posts in CAPFs and Delhi Police were discussed.
While taking the stock of the vacancy position and recruitment procedure of the CAPFs, Union Home Minister called for initiation of special mechanisms for reducing the delays and fast tracking the recruitment activities in time bound manner.
Union Home Minister expressed his satisfaction on the progress made by the CAPFs in recruitment during last two years and also desired that departmental promotion should be processed at the earliest within powers vested to respective Director General of the CAPFs and Delhi Police.
Ministry of Law and Justice
Press Communique
Vide notifications dated 04.02.2023, in exercise of the power conferred by Article 223 of the Constitution of India, the President of India, is pleased to appoint following senior-most Judges of High Courts of Allahabad and Gujarat as Acting Chief Justices in that High Courts respectively: -
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Name 
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1.
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Shri Justice Pritinker Diwaker, Judge, Allahabad High Court
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2.
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Miss Justice Sonia Giridhar Gokani, Judge, Gujarat High Court
Ministry of Agriculture &
Farmers Welfare
Indian Council of Agricultural Research  Republic Day Tableau Kisan Gandhi bags First Prize
The Indian Council of Agricultural Research  was awarded First Prize for its Tableau, ‘Kisan Gandhi’ in the Republic Day Parade - 2019. Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Defence, handed over the award to the ICAR team here today.
The ICAR tableau displayed the importance of dairy farming, use of indigenous breeds and livestock based organic agriculture for rural prosperity.
The ICAR tableau “Kisan Gandhi” portrayed the Gandhiji’s vision to improve agriculture and livestock for the prosperity of rural communities. To gain more insight, he attended a training program on dairy farming for fifteen days in 1927 at Bangalore Centre of the ICAR - National Dairy Research Institute. He also visited and appreciated the 'Indore method' of composting at the Institute of Plant Industry, Indore in 1935.
The Gandhian philosophy included promotion of Swadeshi breeds, organic agriculture and goat milk for better health. In order to realize Gandhi's dream, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research is relentlessly working towards transforming the Indian Agriculture for ensuring livelihood security and higher income of our Annadata, the farmers. By developing and deploying cutting edge science and technology, India has succeeded in achieving food self-sufficiency and remains the highest milk and cotton producer in the world.
In the tableau, Bapu was shown with goats and a cow. Organic agriculture, revolution in cotton and milk production and food safety analysis for better health were also showcased. Kasturba Gandhi was also shown engaged with Charkha and caring for animals at Bapu Kuti at Wardha Ashram. It symbolized livestock based sustainable and climate resilient agriculture.
The 22 tableaux rolling down the Rajpath during the 70th Republic Day Parade included 16 tableaux from states and Union Territories, six from various central ministries and departments.
The ICAR Republic Day tableau - 2018 rolled down at Rajpath with the theme of integrated farming, “Mishrit Kheti, Khushiyon Ki Kheti”.
Special Service and Features
KV`s Workshop on `Developing reading ability through phonics’
In order to empower the teachers on “Developing Reading Ability through Phonics” K.V.IIT Chennai had come up with a three day workshop for PRT’s from 22.3.21 to 24.3.21 at 10.00am. Around 28 schools and a total of 90 teachers from all over Chennai region participated in this workshop.
Phonics is a branch of linguistics where the sounds and physical properties of human speech sounds are studied. Phonics reading is highly essential in every child education.
This workshop was inaugurated by the Chief Guest of the Programme Dr. SP Dhanvel professor, Department of HSS Indian Institute of Technology Chennai in the presence of Deputy Commissioner KVS Chennai Region Dr. M. Rajeswari.
Principal of KV IIT Chennai Dr. M.Manickasamy, Course director emphasized on the importance of pronunciation and also mentioned that the teachers shoulder a great responsibility in the student’s community. The workshop aimed at educating the teachers on ways of language teaching skills in reading writing and speaking.
Deputy Commissioner KVS Chennai Region Dr.M.Rajeswari in her key note address explained the importance to enhance the language skills. To compete with all the international level our KVS students should get ready in the primary and preliminary level, she added.
Professor Dr. SP Dhanvel in his speech emphasized on the importance of Phonics in Developing Reading Ability. He also insisted the teachers to guide the children with the correct pronunciation to avoid miscommunication.
Ministry of Railways
ER’S HOWRAH DIVISION LAUNCHES ‘OPERATION STEAM’ TO COMBAT COVID-19
Kolkata, April 16, 2021
There is an all round preparedness over Eastern Railway  to combat COVID pandemic. Mandatory use of masks, use of hand sanitiser and maintaining physical distance are already in force. In station premises, the security personnel of the Railways are persuading passengers to follow the COVID appropriate behaviour. There are frequent announcements through the public address system about the means of COVID protocol to fight the menace. Tactful application of soft skill has been adopted approaching the passengers found without masks in station premises and in trains in order to compel them to wear it.
For the internal staff, ER’s Howrah Division has started ‘Operation Steam’ from today for all the field units & offices. A week-long strict regimen of compulsory steam inhalation, twice a day- at the time of joining and also when going out to be done seriously. For this purpose, steam inhalers have been provided for all the units under Howrah Division.
In each and every unit, every depot, sick line yard, lobby, running room, every possible location there will be a steam inhaler where the staff can take steam.
It is hoped that this measure will have a significant positive impact on the frontline warriors in the battle against COVID-19.